So here we are, the last day of my Christmas picture books countdown.
Of course, for Day 25, I had to choose 'Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore. A Christmas classic it truly is. There are so many versions and illustrations available for this book that you could read a new one each year to keep it interesting.
This is a sweet story but beware *spoiler alert*, the ending is left up to the reader. For kids this might be a problem, but I think it's a great idea to turn it into a creative writing lesson. I've provided two printable writing prompts. Have your students write about what they think Splat received as a present.
Click the pictures of {HERE} to download the freebie.
Well today's post is going to be extra short because I almost missed blogging today! I have spent the whole day running around, trying to get everything finished before Christmas Eve. Apparently leaving everything until the last minute is NOT a good idea - who knew?
Students will love reading about all the jobs he had before and all the events that led him to becoming Santa Claus. This is also a great book to teach about cause and effect.
In completely unrelated news, I took the opportunity of Christmas vacation to finish my new (unrelated to Christmas) unit:
This unit contains 27 mini-books for letter practice. The ABC practice book contains one page for each letter of the alphabet, and then there are 26 mini-books, one for each letter of the alphabet. Click {HERE} or the pictures to check it out.
I cannot believe that Christmas break is here! I am ready for some much needed rest and relaxation! I really enjoy the excitement in the classroom during the week before any sort of vacation (especially Christmas) - busy, but so much fun!
Well I am kind of embarrassed to admit that as I'm going through my countdown of Christmas picture books, I keep having to remind myself of the books I've already written about. There always seems to be one or two that I forget, so if I've already talked about this book, please forgive me! For Day 21, I've chosen A Wish to Be a Christmas Tree by Colleen Monroe. Every time I look see this book, I am reminded of a Christmas special that I saw as a kid, but I cannot remember what it was called, so I'm not sure if this is based on a TV special, or if a TV special was based on this, or if I am remembering it all completely wrong.
Anyways, this is a sweet story about a tree who wants to be a Christmas tree, but never gets picked. With sweet friends to the rescue, his dream becomes a reality.
If you'd like to read this with your students, but don't have the book, I found a YouTube reading:
Is there anything I need to say? This book is a classic and almost everyone has heard or watched it, so let's just get onto some Grinch-y ideas. There are so many fantastic things to do with this book and I know a lot of people even celebrate a Grinch day around Christmas. Dress up like Who characters, eat Who pudding,
I cannot find the original picture that I saw, but this was the basic idea (this picture is from Artsonia). We used pastels and metallic sharpie for the cap of the ornament. I loved seeing how they turned out. This is also a great lesson to teach about shading (which we attempted).
So onto today's picture book. Who's That Knocking on Christmas Eve? by Jan Brett.
Jan Brett has so many great Christmas books and I was lucky enough to find a pack of them in the last Scholastic order. If you're looking for an author study to do in the weeks before Christmas, Jan Brett and her books would be a great choice.
Alright, I'm off to rest before it starts all over again tomorrow!
I cannot believe there are only a few days left in my Christmas picture book countdown! I have so many more books that didn't make it onto my list. Perhaps I will have to have a bonus day 26 with some additional books.
I'm going to sound like a broken record, but once again, I really love the illustrations in this book - so unique & fun. Your students will enjoy making connections and comparing their Christmas traditions with Olivia's. Amazing illustrations + a series that kids love = a great book.
Garland has a ton of other great books including, Miss Smith's Incredible Storybook. In this story, the reindeer harness on Santa's sleigh breaks, the reindeer fly off, and Santa is left stranded. Your students will love predicting how Santa will solve his problem (plus the illustrations are adorable).
What Christmas books will you he reading this week?
Oh how, oh how is the weekend already over? Here we are, Sunday night and I do not feel like I am ready for the week. Oh well, here we go.
So the book I've chosen for Day 16 is a new one for me, although it's actually a few years old - Merry Un Christmas by Mike Reiss. I recently got it in a Scholastic order and as I was looking through it, it seemed familiar and finally I figured out why. It's the same author-illustrator team from The Boy Who Wouldn't Share. This is a fun story and perfect for all those kids who wish they could celebrate Christmas everyday.
I've created a little freebie for use with this book. Have your students use the Venn diagram to compare the holidays of Christmas and Un Christmas. Then provide them with the writing prompt so they can choose which holiday they would rather celebrate. Click {HERE} or the pictures to check the freebie out.
If you're looking for some more stuff to keep your students busy this week, click the pictures to check out some of my products:
